Alonzo Cushing's Last Stand at Gettysburg and Medal of Honor

Dec 13 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Last Stand at Gettysburg and Medal of Honor

Alonzo Cushing gripped the cannon’s wheel with hands slick from sweat and blood. Bullets tore through the roar around him, tearing limbs and hope alike. He would not fall silent. Every round fired was a heartbeat—each one meant to hold the line or die trying. The field was chaos, but that gun’s thunder was his gospel.

The Making of a Soldier

Born in Delafield, Wisconsin, 1841, Alonzo Herbert Cushing carried faith and duty like armor. West Point sharpened his resolve. His family, steeped in service and sacrifice, injected in him a fierce, unyielding code: duty before self. The young artillery officer grew up steeped in Christian conviction, believing his role was more than battle—it was divine mission.

He prayed, not for victory, but for strength to do what was right in the face of carnage.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863. Little Round Top, Gettysburg. The Union line faltered. Confederate forces pushed hard, desperate to break the Union left flank.

Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery—a mere six cannons amid the storm.

Even as his men fell wounded or fled, he stayed. His horse shot from under him, a bullet tore through his abdomen, another shattered his arm. Blood pooled beneath him. But his voice remained steady—fire! fire!

His battery was the thin red line that kept the Rebels at bay, preventing the collapse of the entire Union position.

One eyewitness later said, “Lieutenant Cushing was found leaning on his cannon, shot through the stomach, not dead. When asked if he was hurt badly he answered, ‘Yes, but let me rest on my gun a moment longer.’” The silence he kept the Confederates in was bought with his life.

Cushing died in that cratered field, at just 22 years old. His final act—a defiant stand in the face of death.

Honors Carved in Valor

For 151 years, his story was buried under the dust of history. It wasn’t until 2014 that Alonzo Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor—his nation’s highest tribute to valor.

The citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism on 3 July 1863, while serving as First Lieutenant, Battery A, 4th United States Artillery... Despite grave wounds, he remained with his gun until he died.[^1]

President Barack Obama called it “a story of extraordinary bravery... a shining example for us all.” A forgotten hero, finally remembered.

His courage is commemorated at Gettysburg National Military Park, a somber reminder that courage is often silent but thunderous.

Enduring Lessons from the Crater

Alonzo Cushing stands as a monument to the ultimate sacrifice—where honor binds the living and the dead in an unbreakable covenant. The field at Gettysburg bleeds truths like his: courage is costly. Valor demands everything, often up to the last breath.

His legacy whispers through time:

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

To warriors burdened by scars, his story rekindles purpose—you hold the line, even when it kills you. To civilians, it humbles and demands recognition of the blood beneath freedom’s soil.

Alonzo Cushing’s last stand was a prayer fired in lead and grit, echoing through every generation that values faith, sacrifice, and unyielded courage.

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War (A–L)